Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Everything you need to know about our parish and the Coronavirus is contained in the section of this newsletter headed Coronavirus; however, since there is much more to our community than the current public health situation, we encourage you to also read through this entire edition of The Happy Priest.
Our Calendar
The Fast
During the Fast we abstain from meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish, wine, and olive oil Monday through Friday, with katalysis (a blessing) for wine and olive oil on Saturday and Sunday. If you need to modify the fast in any way, please check with your spiritual father.
Daily Services
Monday, March 16-Friday, March 20
Orthros 5am;
Vespers 5pm
(Please don’t forget that since life in our parish community can be pretty busy, sometimes the starting times for the daily services has to be shifted. So, if you know ahead of time that you will be attending a particular service, it’s always a good idea to send Father Aidan a note to confirm when the service will actually begin.)
Lenten Services
Monday, March 16
Great Compline 7pm
Wednesday, March 18
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy 7pm (there will not be daily vespers on Wed, Mar 18)
Friday, March 20
Akathist Hymn 7pm
Saturday, March 21
The Final Saturday of Souls
Orthros 7am
Divine Liturgy 9am
St Thomas School 4pm
John Bell will lead the discussion of pgs 53-80 in Chapter 2, The Age of the Ecumenical ChurchGreat Vespers 6pm
Sunday, March 22
Third Sunday in Great Lent
Orthros 8am
Between Orthros and the Divine Liturgy we will serve the Adoration of the CrossDivine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children Noon
This Week at St Thomas School
The Age of the Ecumenical Councils (Vol 1, Ch 2, Part 2: pages 55-80)
In chapter 2, Metropolitan Hilarion has been surveying the period of the Ecumenical Councils, which covers the 4th through 8th centuries of Church history. Last week we read the first half of this chapter examining the first six Ecumenical Councils. This week we read about the seventh and final Ecumenical Council (in the reckoning of the Eastern Church) and about a few of the most famous Church authors of the time.
In 726, Byzantium emperor Leo the Isaurian issued the first of two edicts prohibiting the veneration of icons. Metropolitan Hilarion notes that the motives behind the edict are unclear and speculated that it could have come from external pressure: Islam had surrounded and was threatening the now small Byzantine state; or perhaps it was because veneration of icons was being abused and common worshipers attributed magical powers to them.
A council was convened and opposed the Emperors’ edict. The Emperor exiled those who disagreed and he convened his own council to affirm the edict.
Over the next 30 years, Iconoclasts (those opposing veneration) exiled, tortured, and killed many who opposed them (the Iconodules), and destroyed many icons. Finally in 787, during the reign of Empress Irene, yet another council was brought together who, again, supported veneration of icons, and veneration was restored. However, following her death, in 813 the persecution of the Iconodules resumed under a succession of Emperors.
Finally, with the death of Emperor Theophilus in 843, the veneration of icons was restored by his wife, Theodora. The decision of the Council of 787 (that we now call the 7th Ecumenical Council) was reaffirmed. As Orthodox, we still celebrate this day each March 11 as the “Triumph of Orthodoxy.”
What was the legacy of the period of the seven Ecumenical Councils? During this time Church doctrine “was given its definitive formulation.” Teachings on the Trinity, Christology, veneration of icons, etc. became clear. Orthodox canon law took shape. And, church-state relations as a “symphony”—foreign to our separation doctrine— was formulated.
The Metropolitan is careful to note that an Ecumenical Council is not the highest authority within the Church; rather, it is the local parishes who give or withhold their consent to Council decrees that govern the Church.
To close out this chapter, Metropolitan Hilarion gives a short but substantial survey of the literature produced during the time of the Ecumenical Councils.
Coronavirus
The position of our archdiocese has been helpfully outlined in the letter Encyclical COVID-2019. Of course, different jurisdictions are taking different approaches, and the City of Cedar Park or Williamson County may adopt restrictions on attendance at worship services. If that does happen, we have a contingency plan that we will announce; however, we have no plans, at this time, to cancel any events of services—and, even with an attendance ceiling of, say, 150 people, that will not inhibit anyone from participating in any of the 17 services that we offer each week apart from the Sunday Divine Liturgy. So, we all have plenty of opportunities to ‘social distance’ and protect our health and the health of others and also take part in the Divine Services.
Coming Up
March has five Sundays, and, on the 5th Sunday of the month, during Fellowship Hour, we always have a potluck. Of course, a potluck only works if we all bring something to eat; nothing is worse than heading to the kitchen after the liturgy and discovering that the only things on the serving counter are a bowl of broccoli and two bags of kale chips. So, break out your best Lenten recipe, and plan on bringing plenty to share on Sunday, March 29.
Don’t forget: During this flu season, you need to use hand sanitizer when you first come into the Long Hall. If you have time, an even better precaution is to go into the restroom and wash your hands with soap and hot water for at least twenty seconds (and be sure to use lots of friction!). We also need to wash up or use hand sanitizer before we go through the line at Fellowship Hour. There are bottles of hand sanitizer in a number of different locations throughout the Long Hall and the Parish House, so let’s take full advantage of that and stay as healthy as possible.
This coming Saturday, March 21 is the final Lenten Saturday of Souls. We will serve Orthros at 7am and Divine Liturgy at 9am. The Memorial Book is available in the narthex, so please legibly print the names of the folks that you wish to commemorate. If you absolutely cannot be present this coming Saturday, there will be on final Saturday of Souls on the eve of the Feast of Pentecost, Saturday, June 6, but our goal is for everyone in the parish to make at least one of these services.
The expectation of our archdiocese is that each of us will make our confession before Pascha. In our parish, we do not offer that Holy Mystery during Holy Week, so that means we have until Friday, April 10 to fulfill that obligation. Confession is offered each Saturday evening following Great Vespers and just about any other time by specific appointment, so let’s be sure and get that done during the next nine weeks.
During Great Lent we always try to do some spiritual reading, so why not get a head start on the Pascha Book Study and read through the book that we will be using during that six week discussion? The book is called The New Media Epidemic; it’s by a French Orthodox scholar, Jean Claude Larchet. It’s a fairly short book, so you can read a couple of pages a day during Great Lent and be ready to join the book study when it kicks off on Wednesday, April 22. The book is available at Christ the Lightgiver Bookstore, so pick up a copy in the next week or so.
One of the most beautiful feasts of the Mother of God falls during Great Lent. It’s the Feast of the Annunciation, and we will begin that cycle of services with Great Vespers on Tuesday, March 24, at 7pm. We will continue the services on March 25, the day of the feast, with Orthros at 4:30am and Divine Liturgy at 6:30am. Plan on joining us as we honor the Most Holy Theotokos.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
It’s time to start getting ready for Pascha, and that means we need to review all the Grace and Courtesy Moments which apply to Easter. Here’s the second one:
Pre-school children should not be given lighted candles. Battery operated candles are available at craft stores, and that is what pre-school children should use. Parents and grandparents should use their best judgment when it comes to allowing elementary-age children to hold a lighted candle. This is not only a safety issue (hot wax can cause bad burns; hair and clothing can blaze up quickly and unexpectedly); it also takes a great deal of work to remove wax from the carpet. Again, our ushers have been instructed to remind parents that very young children should not be given lighted candles.
On Sunday, at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, we will offer the Service of the Adoration of the Cross; please arrive early to join us for this short service.
an unworthy priest
aidan